James Bond's been around for 50 years now, and he's still causing sartorial freak-outs at GQ. The most recent topic of discussion: that scene in Skyfall when Daniel Craig jumps from a backhoe onto a wrecked moving train—after being shot in the freakin' shoulder—and then adjusts his cufflink. "Of course, wouldn't you do that?! This is what I love about Bond," Skyfall's costume designer Jany Temime told GQ. "He's somebody who was made to please us." To learn the secrets for looking good whilst kicking ass, we called up Temime, the only designer to have outfitted both 007 and Harry Potter. During our chat, she revealed Daniel Craig's costume ideas (a skinny suit plus a very #menswear Billy Reid pea coat, naturally), the backstory of Javier Bardem's blond hair, and the most important part of Bond's wardrobe. Hint: not an exploding pen.

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GQ: How did you design a suit that's stylish, but also good for riding motorcycles onto moving trains?

Jany Temime: First, I had a long meeting with Daniel and he told me what he wanted: a slim-fit suit tailored very near the body. And I knew Tom Ford was a strong sell, so I combined those ideas. I spent a week trying to find the right shape. Daniel wanted a suit you could forget—a suit that wasn't on top of his body, but moving with his body. Also, he must've been extremely proud of his body, as you can imagine. If I had such a body, I would like to show it.

GQ: When you asked Tom Ford if he'd produce your designs, what did he say about the suits?

Jany Temime: I thought Tom Ford would either kick me out or smile, one or the other. But he was fantastic, completely ready to do the best with what we gave him, and he did it wonderfully. The tailors were amazing. Everything about the fitting was serious. You know how Italians can be. Like, for half an hour you'll discuss whether the length of a trouser should be a half-centimeter longer or shorter. I wanted Bond to look perfect all the time, so I chose Tom Ford shirts that had a tab under the collar—great for the action scenes—and light blue and sky blue colors, because they go wonderfully with Daniel's eyes. I also wanted a tie you could forget; I didn't want Bond to be the guy with a tie that has a little square on it. Those are too loud, and you'll just remember the wrong design. The trousers were flat-front and belt-less—[belts] are so nineties.

GQ: You can tell there's a big difference between Bond and Q just by the way they're dressed.

Jany Temime: In that first moment they are together, I had very little time to establish a character. It's not like meeting someone and having a drink. When Q arrives in the museum, I wanted Bond to think he's just a nerd or a student—that's why I used that duffle coat. But first, I put glasses on Ben Wishaw. What he had on was very expensive, like the Margiela jacket under his duffle coat. They were modish, nerdy, expensive clothes that nobody else would recognize—except for another computer wizard like Q.

GQ: What other ideas did Daniel Craig have?

Jany Temime: He was saying things like, "I want a tab trouser, slim fit, and a light jacket with little padding." I wanted certain details, like one streak on the back of the jacket. The first time we see Bond in the film, Daniel said, "I really want to look shoddy." So out of fifty leather jackets, I chose one from Levi's Vintage—an old-fashioned style that you'd forget easily. He also wanted a very fine scarf around his neck at the end, so I chose one from Tom Ford, a very expensive scarf made from the finest cashmere.

We spent a lot of time on the last sequence. He wanted to look as though he had found the scarf in the Bond family's home. Another one of Daniel's ideas: When he's playing the chauffeur in the airport, he was the one who said, "I want to have a blue peacoat. I know Billy Reid makes very nice ones." So I ordered ten pieces, and I must say, they put this little piece of leather on the back and it is beautiful. And paired with the chauffeur hat he's wearing, it gives Daniel a sort of boxy look. The unusual shape makes him completely different, you know?

GQ: Definitely. But why did Daniel want a scarf?

Jany Temime: One of the reasons was, of course, the human side of the character. He wanted to show that Bond needed some sort of protection. It was a psychological thing, something that was supposed to be from his family. And when you look at him without that dark scarf, it's a little too happy. I needed the blue for all the dark to bring out the coldness and the sharpness of his eyes.

GQ: Let's talk a bit about Javier Bardem's character, Silva. He has a more flamboyant style than Bond. It looked like he was wearing a Prada print shirt...

Jany Temime: Ah, very good, it was Prada! The rest was made for him. I was addicted to the Prada shirt, because it had just the right level of lightness and expensiveness. I'm not going to call it "bad taste"—the graphic of that shirt is beautiful—but it's not Bond; a gentleman wouldn't wear that. Silva is slightly nouveau riche, and I wanted to show that he did his best to impress Bond. I did the entire costume around that shirt. The connection with his complexion was just brilliant.

GQ: Right, and it defined his character without being too loud.

Jany Temime: Yeah, that's very difficult, because he has blond hair. Javier's a great actor, but he knows that when you give an actor that caliber a blond wig, a forced chin, an artificial smile, and contact lenses, you have a lot already. I had to gradually bring in elements that he was used to. First, the shirt, then the darker colors, then the white jacket. Silva was one of the most difficult characters to establish for me.

GQ: Why exactly was Javier's character so hard to establish, the physical alterations?

Jany Temime: No, it's also because he's a villain; he's your traditional Bond villain. And then I wanted to create my villain. When you're working with an actor like Javier Bardem, you have to work together. I've got to give him a costume that will help him create that villain. In a way, he has to be as powerful as Bond.

GQ: Can you tell me about the blond wig?

Jany Temime: He wanted to be completely different. I'm not the hairdresser, but I know he wanted to be surprised of himself as much as he wanted to surprise us.

GQ: Javier's character always looked like he got upset whenever his clothes were dirtied. Bond, however, doesn't care. Silva's more sensitive.

Jany Temime: Well, that means he's a very good actor then—both Daniel and Javier are—but you cannot compare an English actor to a Spanish actor. The Spanish always have a little touch of craziness. It's a Latino and an Anglo-Saxon; how can you compare them? And don't forget it was the first Bond movie for Javier—he wanted to leave his mark—and the third for Daniel, which is challenging as well, because you always have to be better than the last time.

GQ: Back to Bond, there's a scene where he jumps onto a train...and then fis his cufflink!

Jany Temime: Of course, wouldn't you do that?! This is what I love about Bond: He's somebody who was made to please us. I think this is why he's such a lovable character. Because he's there for us, don't you think? He's there to please the public and, at the right moment, do what we expect him to do. And when he's putting up his cufflink, you're thinking, Ooooh! I think that was Daniel's idea, and it was so perfect.

GQ: Bond's been around for fifty years now. Why is his style still important?

Jany Temime: It's because you'll always have a British gentleman. Daniel Craig's Bond is just the evolution. You will always have someone like Bond as the ideal, perfect gentleman, who has a very sexy job and spends his time killing people and jumping off a train, but still pulls up his cufflink. Â

GQ: What style tips can a GQ reader learn from Bond?

Jany Temime: That wearing a suit is not wearing a uniform. I hope that when they see Bond, they realize that you can have a really active life and look very sexy without looking confined. I hope it inspires them to wear one more often. It's the best thing that can happen to a man, a beautiful suit, a nice shirt, a great pair of trousers, and shoes that just look gorgeous. A pair of shoes can tell you everything about a man, and they'll be next to your bed the morning after, so they'd better look good.

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